@BOOK{NAP11636, editor = "Paul Halpern and Paul Wesson", title = "Brave New Universe: Illuminating the Darkest Secrets of the Cosmos", doi = "10.17226/11636", abstract = "Cosmologists yearn to behold the unseen elements of our universe.\nAnd as new technologies become more powerful and precise, scientists\nare getting their wish\u2014though these tools are challenging the\nlimits of our imagination as fast as they are answering many longstanding\nquestions.\nSpace is one of the last great frontiers for modern man. A never-ending\nsource of investigation and inspiration, it beckons to scientists with an\nirresistible siren\u2019s call. And in this glorious age of cosmology, astronomical\nmeasurement has never been more precise. The power provided to us by\nextraordinary new observational mechanisms has shattered former suppositions\nand stimulated exciting new visions of the universe.\nUsing modern instruments such as the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy\nProbe (WMAP), astronomers now have access to information about the age\nand composition of the universe. By providing greatly improved answers,\nhigh-resolution satellite data and novel telescopic techniques have transformed\none of science\u2019s most speculative fields into a triumph of meticulous and rigorous\ndetection.\nYet as the technological tools grow increasingly robust and we are able to\nsee farther and know more, we find that we have even more questions. Could\nthere be realms beyond ordinary space? Might time, space, and matter simply\nbe illusions? What unique blend of cosmological factors influences life\non Earth?\nFeaturing interviews with leaders in the field as well as thought-provoking\ndescriptions of their work, Brave New Universe is a guided tour of current\nadvances and controversies in cosmology.\n", url = "https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11636/brave-new-universe-illuminating-the-darkest-secrets-of-the-cosmos", year = 2006, publisher = "The National Academies Press", address = "Washington, DC" }